Trend Overhead Router stand upgrade

[Never enough space]

I have a Trend floor standing overhead router stand, the last Elu MOF 11 head has finally quit as the plastic brush holders had disintegrated and are no longer available.

Its one of those tools that doesn't get a great deal of use only 3 or 4 jobs a year but is a very useful tool to have when you need it

I am looking as the High speed spindles that are available but this is not an area I am expert in.

Ideally i would like to be able to run from 12000 RPM up to 24000 RPM so it looks like i will need to run a 3 phase head with an inverter.

Bearing in mind that this doesn't get used every day i would like to keep the cost of this at a sensible level, for both the head and the inverter.
Can anyone offer the benefit of experience with these types of head?
The differences in the prices is phenomenal between the various heads that are available so some guidance on suppliers and manufacturers would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Paul

 

[niall Y]

Interesting, I have this same machine. Last time it was repaired and tested at the motor winders, the broken switch had its housing glued. Its not going to survive another bash - so I might well be in the same position as you, in a few years time.

Just had a look on Ebay, and there seem to be quite a few kits available. Realistically, the cost is going to equate to that of a good, heavy-duty router. And many of these kits seem to be under. Not sure how good they are performance -wise , but you might have to extend the spindle. My MOF 11 has an extension, which gives it a longer reach than the example in your photo.

 

[Never enough space]

It is the achilleas heel of the whole design that has finally sunk me after all these years, the plastic caps for the brushes, I has scrounged up a few over the last 5 years off of other broken heads but there just not to be had anymore,

As for the spindle length I am not to concerned as i am going to make a complete new mount for the head and i still have the spindle extensions and 1/2 mounting shaft that came with my 177E that for the present continues to give good service.

Where I am struggling is to get a head with either the ER25 or ER32 collets that runs at 24000 RPM without spending a fortune, they all max at 18000 RPM that will allow me to use some of the 16mm shaft tooling I still have for the big overhead router I had in the big workshop years ago.
I have read in other articles that you can run beyond the stated RPM's on induction motors with a VFD but whether this type of head would be the same I don't know.

 

[Inspector]

Probably not the best solution but have you given any thought to having the plastic brush caps 3D printed? You could get a mitt full made at one time and treat them as a throw away. Perhaps I don't have a grasp of what they look like and a printed one won't work.

Pete

 

[Simon89]

Not a helpful answer, but out of interest what are the benefits of an overhead router?

 

[Against_The_Grain]

Not a helpful answer, but out of interest what are the benefits of an overhead router?

Superior in almost every way to a table router, in particularly for patternwork, though slowly becoming a lost skill as there aren’t many people who use them anymore.

One of the main benefits with most overhead routers is the plunging feature via a foot pedal, where you can plunge into a workpiece with the bit from above, typically the workpiece is attached to a pattern or jig and is referenced against a pin in the table. This enables the machinist to batch produce components very quickly as compared to any other method aside from a CNC router, even then a skilled machinist with an overhead can outpace a CNC machine in certain operations.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Not a solution to this, but a small overhead router can be made from a good drill stand and a router with a 43mm collar.
I also wondered about the 3D printing.

 

[ChaiLatte]

I also wondered about the 3D printing.

Just to echo this, if you can make a drawing or take a photo of the broken plastic part, we can advise how feasible remanufacture might be.

 

[Spectric]

It is the achilleas heel of the whole design that has finally sunk me after all these years, the plastic caps for the brushes

Yes 3D printing does come to mind but also if you know any old motor repair shops they might have something suitable in their " It might come in handy one day " collection.

 

[TomGW]

Aren’t the brush caps just screw-in caps similar to many current machines, albeit possibly an odd/unique size? If they really are an odd size I would imagine a machine shop could easily produce a new pair from Delrin or similar.
I recently bought a pack of 10 replacement caps for an old impact drill and found a massive range of sizes to choose from. 10 caps and 10 carbon brushes cost roughly £5.